This is a press release from the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center:
During March and April, landscape photographs by Tamara Wolski will be on display at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center. Shows featuring local art and photography are sponsored by Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM). The Interpretive Center, located at 569 South G Street in Arcata, is open to the public Monday from 1 to 5 p.m. and Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (707) 826-2359.
Statement from the photographer:
Photography has been a passion of mine since I first took a photography class at Arcata High School over 20 years ago. When I am not working as a librarian, I am taking photographs around Humboldt County and on my travels. I am never without my camera.
The Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary always has been a special place for me and my family. We come here often for tranquil walks, bird watching, otter sightings, and magnificent sunsets. My show incorporates Marsh shots taken over the years and throughout the seasons, along with other landscape photographs from our region. I am in constant awe of the natural beauty of our county and I never tire of capturing it with my camera.
This show is dedicated to my father, Al Wolski, a longtime FOAM volunteer who loved the Marsh and its inhabitants and passed away in January.
How can you tell if the art market is overheated?
One clue may be the way journalists behave during evening sales. Not so long ago, some reporters wouldn’t even look up from their phones until a work crossed the $30 million threshold.
That boom era, however, is over—at least for now. After the remarkable peaks witnessed during 2021 and 2022, the art market fell back down to earth in 2023. The contraction was driven by multiple factors: climbing interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty, the crypto crash, a supply squeeze— not to mention a significant number of collectors who gorged on art in recent years and chose to take a breather in 2023.
As times get tougher, it becomes all the more important to keep up appearances. The art market, more than almost any other industry, is shaped by sentiment. We know that marquee evening sales have transformed into the art-world equivalent of Broadway shows, with costumes, spotlights, and a big dose of razzle-dazzle. Less well understood are the ways in which the proceedings—and even final results—can be carefully stage-managed, especially following the repeal of a set of laws governing auction houses in New York City. In her must-read investigation, Artnet News senior reporter Katya Kazakina delves into the legal changes, and what they mean for buyers and sellers.
Elsewhere in this issue, Annie Armstrong talks to a consummate insider— mega-collector and art-fair founder Dean Valentine—about the future of the Los Angeles art scene. Artnet News and Morgan Stanley look beneath the topline auction numbers to explore how artists from various regions navigate the market differently, even in our age of hyper-globalization. And Artnet News contributor Julia Halperin, who edited this edition, delves into industry- wide auction results from 2023 to jettison the spin and deliver takeaways you can trust.
In today’s art market, there’s a whole lot going on behind the curtain. And we are keeping as close an eye on the $300,000 lots as we are the $30 million ones. Allow us to turn up the house lights and give you a better look.
– Naomi Rea, Acting Editor-in-Chief, Artnet News
– Marketplace
– The Greatest Show on Earth
by Katya Kazakina
The auction market has always been theatrical—but now, it’s more stage-managed than ever. Here’s what that means for buyers and sellers.
– 5 Questions for…
by Annie Armstrong, Vivienne Chow, and Katya Kazakina
– Data Dive
by Julia Halperin
– Understanding Regional Differences in the Globalized Art Market
by Artnet News and Morgan Stanley
A closer look at the auction market for artists born in different regions shows how they take distinct paths to the hyperconnected art world.
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Anitra Lavanhar is a Renaissance woman with a camera. In high school she says she loved the magic of the dark room and felt challenged by photography’s technical and competitive aspects.
“Wanting to be a successful photographer is a little like a guitar player wanting to be famous,” she says. “It’s pretty much a saturated field. And very difficult.”
A self-labeled anthro-photographer, she describes herself as being “fueled by a lifelong curiosity of the world around me, the people in it and their stories. My lens is wide.”
Lavanhar studied anthropology at Sarah Lawrence College and spent a year in India photographing women in a small fishing village. Later she worked in women’s health as a medical assistant and massage therapist. Then in 2015, thanks to the iPhone and walking on a spiritual pilgrimage in Spain, she had an “I can do this” moment.
A Boston native, Lavanhar — pregnant with her first child — moved to Tulsa in 2000 with husband Marlin Lavanhar as he took the job as pastor of All Souls Unitarian Church.
“Sky Swinging” by Lavanhar.
“It was a big change and challenge,” she says, crediting her adjustment to photography. “It helped me appreciate where I was instead of missing what I didn’t have.”
In 2006, tragedy struck with the death of the couple’s 3-year-old daughter. “Out of these challenging things came amazing things,” Lavanhar reflects. She became a founder and staff member at Discovery Lab. She created the All Souls Acoustic Coffeehouse at the church. Family members established The Sienna Project, named in memory of her daughter, to build schools in Guatemala.
“Walking the path, having the past grief, photography has helped me with my mental health. Seeing the beauty wherever I am. Even in the mundane,” she says.
Lavanhar focuses on fine art and portraiture, and her signature technique is multiple exposures in nature and street scenes. She likes to shoot urban landscapes, street photography and macro nature. She tends to be drawn to that which isn’t traditionally photographed, like the detail and architecture of a parking garage rather than something like the Tulsa skyline.
“It’s almost like cheating to take a photo of something already beautiful,” she says.
“Painting adds to canvas; photography is the art of subtraction,” she continues. “What will you include in the frame and what will you leave out?”
The COVID lockdown inspired two new portraiture concepts: “Doortraits,” which featured families on their front porches, and also exploring documentary family photography. “You’re like a journalist embedded with a family,” she says, “capturing authentic family life.”
Lavanhar teaches photography through Philbrook Museum of Art’s Stay Gold sessions and will host some afternoon workshops at Oxley Nature Center March 9 and May 4. She is also an instructor of White Crane Silat, an Indonesian martial art. “It’s a practice I’ve been a part of and developed for 36 years,” she says. During a Silat retreat in Indonesia last summer she photographed older women, showcasing how beauty and strength increase with years.
Age and aging drive her now. Her children are 23 and 15. She’s 58. Following success with local shows and having her work in the government and office buildings, she looks ahead.
“When I look at my goals, I very much want to pursue the fine arts even more,” she says.
Phil Clarkin first developed his love for photography as a kid with a manual advance Kodak film camera, running around in the woods near his family’s farm in the Kansas Flint Hills. What started as a hobby turned into a profession with Phil Clarkin Photography.
His work has taken him across the country to legendary venues like Madison Square Garden and Red Rocks. He is the lead house photographer (under the name Phil Clarkin Photography) for BOK Center, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa Theater, Osage Casino and Guthrie Green.
What makes you good at this job? I’m always willing to learn, and I hope to never stop evolving as a creative. I’m musically inclined, which helps with my ability to capture the feeling of a show and to anticipate what is about to happen. I’m also a people person. I love to meet all the wonderful and interesting folks that make this industry happen!
What is the most challenging part of your work? Finding new clients and building the business side of my brand when all I really want to do is make cool stuff. Being a business owner is the hard part. Being a photographer and director is the rewarding part.
Any thoughts on the Tulsa music scene? We’re so lucky to live in a place full of musicians who play on the level they do, while all trying to build each other up. This town has a beautiful dynamic you don’t see everywhere else.
Melbourne Art Fair held pride of place at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in late February, as it returned for the first time since 2022. From the 22nd to the 25th, attendees could fall in love with the works presented by 60 leading galleries and Indigenous art centres.
Director of marketing and partnerships Erin Hodge described this edition of the long-running event, refreshed with flamboyant red-orange branding and expanded beyond the venue’s confines, as a “curatorially rigorous platform”.
“One that allows collectors and patrons to explore the region’s best contemporary art in one space, and gain a deep understanding of each artist’s practice,” she continued.
In a recent conversation with Marketing Mag, Hodge dove into the fair’s strategies for engaging its various stakeholders.
Erin Hodge: Melbourne Art Fair is owned and produced by the non-profit Melbourne Art Foundation. While the fair itself is a commercial event, with the primary objective to provide a platform for Australia’s leading galleries to exhibit and sell contemporary art, the foundation utilises profits to deliver an extensive commissioning and grants program, distinguishing it from conventional art fairs.
This allows us to complement gallery presentations with a dynamic and multifaceted artistic program – including large-scale installations, a dedicated cinema space showcasing international video art, the fully funded participation of four Indigenous art centres to showcase work by artists living on Country, a series of conversations with international speakers, major commissions, plus satellite events across the city. Since its establishment in 2003, the foundation has distributed more than $1 million in artist and curator fees through the Melbourne Art Fair. It is an incredibly unique model; in fact, it is the only art fair like this in the world.
EH: Art fairs act as unique meeting points, in that they bring together a diverse, arts-interested audience under one roof. Over four days gallerists, artists, curators, institutions, collectors, journalists, and the art-loving public alike all gather to celebrate, learn about, promote, and support the arts.
From a commercial perspective, art fairs play an important role for galleries and their represented artists to drive sales. However, the value gained goes far beyond financial outcomes. Galleries and their artists gain critical promotion and exposure to a broad, arts-interested audience. Particularly for new artists and young art dealers that are integrated side by side with iconic names, it helps to establish their presence in the market. The event also provides vital opportunities to form new networks that lead to further commercial and curatorial opportunities post-fair.
Additionally, the context of a fair facilitates conversations between galleries and the next generation of collectors and arts industry professionals. There is a wonderful sense of comradery amongst the galleries and their artists, with the fair allowing them to connect and learn from each other.
EH: Melbourne Art Fair has a rich history as Australia’s most established fair, started by a group of galleries in 1988. Today, however, the fair has been re-envisioned as we move to an annual model. With a focus on solo presentations and works of scale and significance, we have been able to differentiate from other fairs in producing a curatorially rigorous platform – one that allows collectors and patrons to explore the region’s best contemporary art in one space, and gain a deep understanding of each artist’s practice.
Complementing gallery presentations, the 2024 curated program was the fair’s most ambitious to date, including a $100,000 bronze sculpture commissioned from artist Julie Rrap in partnership with Art Gallery of Western Australia, and a major performance commissioned from internationally renowned contemporary dance company, Lucy Guerin Inc.
Additionally, strategic collaborations with brands that align with the fair’s values have helped elevate its profile. Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne, VICE, Glenfiddich, Alpha60 and Broadsheet are some examples. These collaborations have allowed us to reach a diverse set of demographics, enhancing awareness and raising the fair’s overall profile.
EH: A range of digital strategies were implemented to connect with our audience on various platforms – including social media campaigns, email marketing, influencer collaborations, online viewing rooms and content collaborations with digital media outlets – with a focus on creating accessible and resonant digital content for a broad audience.
We produced a series of artist profile videos, offering behind-the-scenes glimpses at artists developing works in their studios and also worked with fair ambassadors, spanning various creative fields, to conduct interviews and produce content with digital media outlets like Ocula and Broadsheet, focused on what they were most excited to see at the fair.
This approach played an important role in not only educating audiences on contemporary art, but also fostering engagement by allowing audiences to connect with an individual – making the art world feel more approachable.
Melbourne Art Fair also produces online viewing rooms, MAF Virtual, which runs alongside and for two weeks post-event. The online iteration increases accessibility for those unable to physically attend and provides a digital platform to connect galleries with a global network of collectors and art enthusiasts.
EH: We look at a variety of metrics combined with anecdotal evidence to measure engagement both online and in-person. As a small non-profit organisation, social media is an important platform for us, where our audience regularly communicate. Beyond the views and likes, we pay particular attention to comments, shares and tags. Our audience often comments on posts of artworks they like, or tag friends to attend the event, which helps create a sense of community online. Email is another important platform for us. We utilise email marketing throughout the year, tailoring content and language tone for our VIPs and visitor audience, which allows us to maintain an average open rate of more than 45 percent.
In-person engagement is gauged through event attendance numbers and dwell time, offering a tangible understanding of the audience’s involvement. Additionally, attendee surveys and anecdotal evidence from galleries at the art fair and reporting on visitor interactions, adds a qualitative dimension.
EH: Moving to an annual model allows Melbourne Art Fair to maintain momentum and a year-round presence in the market. We’re keen to work even closer with our galleries and corporate partners to activate mini events and co-produce content, engaging audiences throughout the year. This continuous engagement strategy aims to keep the event top of mind, ensuring sustained success leading up to 2025.
Next, check out the winner of JCDecaux’s Programmatic Campaign of the Year award.
Images credited to Melbourne Art Fair. Photography by Griffin Sim.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A local photographer’s picture is revealing just how far Nashville has come in the past decade.
You may have seen that viral photo comparing Nashville’s skyline today to what it looked like nearly a decade ago.
It was Penny Adams behind the lens of that shot. We show you the two photographs in the video above.
“The one thing that’s resonating in the comments is the passion for the city, they desire days gone by and wish things were different, or they’re happy for the growth and along for the ride,” Adams said.
But for all that’s now different, Adams says she hopes Nashville holds on to what no picture can ever show, something that has always made us Nashville.
“How I look at it is, the heart of the city is the people,” Adams said. “And I hope that doesn’t change, the sense of goodwill with each other.”
You can look at more of Adams’ photography here.
I have two boys in elementary school, so as the school voucher debate takes center stage again – I wanted to really understand this issue. Arizona started its school voucher program 13 years ago and is the first state in the nation to offer universal school vouchers. That’s what Governor Lee is proposing in two years. I leaned on the expertise of an investigative reporter in Arizona – and she came through with facts, figures and plenty of insight. This reporting gave me a lot to think about as a mom and a taxpayer. I think it will for you too.
-Carrie Sharp
